The past relived

Dawn Renton

“I’ve always been obsessed about what I’m going to do next and not looking behind me”, he said back in 2014.

That was then and this is now – and quite frankly, he is Gary Numan, he has the right to change his mind!

The 80s icon is hitting the road with not one, but three classic albums.

Numan is revisiting his first three albums, playing tracks from 1979’s back-to-back releases ‘Replicas’ and ‘The Pleasure Principle’ and 1980’s ‘Telekon’ when the tour arrives in Glasgow this September.

Following on from the success of his Top 20 album, 2013’s ‘Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)’, accompanying two-year world tour, and with a new record in the pipeline, it seems perfect timing to head out on a jaunt around the country.

Gary said: “Having spent most of the last couple of years touring and with the release of the new album later on this year, it seems like the ideal time to revisit the three records that really changed my life.

“I very rarely look back at past glories but, with these shows, I intend to not only look back, but to celebrate those really early days of my musical career.

“I’m very happy that the ‘Classic Album’ shows are coming back in September,” he continued.

“These shows will be made up of different elements of the three albums something along the lines of the gigs that we played last year around October time. The thing with these albums is that they’re now considered classics and playing tracks from each one will obviously be very special for me.”

And Gary promises that audiences can expect to hear all their favourites.

“Yeah, songs from all three albums plus a few from Tubeway Army (the London-based electronic and new wave band that Gary fronted in the 1970s) will all be there,” he said. “Without those songs and all the experiences that went with them, I wouldn’t be here today.

“‘Splinter’ was widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best album I’ve ever made.

“With that achievement, I’ve finally learned to be proud of my history, and that’s what these shows are all about.”

For the new album, Gary decided to get his fans –affectionately known as ‘Numanoids’ – involved by setting up a pledge campaign.

“It’s about wanting my fans involved with the process of making an album and also to keep my independence as an artist,” he said, explaining the idea behind his album campaign.

“I started writing songs for the as-yet untitled album the same day I launched the campaign. I’ve set a release date for the middle of October – which would make it three years exactly since the ‘Splinter’ album was released. I have no idea exactly how I want it to sound as yet, it’s pretty much a blank canvas at the moment. It’s an exciting project that I hope my fans will want to be a part of and enjoy being a part of.”